Touch fasteners are particularly desirable as fastening systems for lightweight, disposable garments, such as diapers. In an effort to provide a cost-effective loop material, some have recommended various alternatives to weaving or knitting, such as by needling a lightweight layer of fibers to form a light, non-woven material that can then be stretched to achieve even lighter basis weight and cost efficiency, with the loop structures anchored by various binding methods, and subsequently adhered to a substrate. U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,016 teaches one such method, for example.
Materials with lower unit costs and better performance are desired. Reducing fiber content can lower cost, but can also affect overall performance or load-carrying capacity of the loop material, as well as the dimensional stability and handling efficiency of the loop product. Also, choice of fiber material is often compromised by a need for the loop material to be weld-compatible with a substrate (e.g., an outer layer of a diaper) to which the loop material is to be permanently bonded, and by the load-bearing requirements of the fastener loop fibers.
Various methods of bonding fibers to underlying substrates have also been taught, for forming touch fasteners and other loop-bearing materials.